Annelies Grafiksida-Animated Flower

Program: PhotoImpact XL and Gif Animator 5.05 Author: Annelie Karlén Ternefors Homepage: www.anneliesgrafiksida.com Terms of use: Please read Title: Animated flower Level: Intermediate /Advanced Featured Tools: Path Drawing Tool, Object Paint Eraser Tool, Transform Tool, Easy Palette and Layer Manager. Additional files: background.zip Description: Learn to create an animated flower which both grown up and wither away. Preparation: Download the zip-file above. Just click on the link background.zip and choose Save to save this file on your own computer.

	Open a new image width: 350px height: 350px. First you should start by making all different parts of the flower.
	The stem Go to Easy Palette - Object Library and try to find Shape Library. Choose Pattern and double-click on the Plant1. Change to the Transform Tool - Resize and click on the padlock to open it so you can change the size to follow. Width: 80px Height: 200px. Lock the padlock again by click on it. Return to Easy Palette and go to the Material Gallery. Choose Gel - and double-click on G10. Go to the Line Arrow Tool. Shape: Spline Mode: 3D. Right-click on Color and choose Ulead Color Picket. Change the Hex to #388530 and click OK. Then change the border in the Path Panel to 3. Extend your stem with a small curve at the top as the pictures to the left shows. While your curve is still selected. Right-click and choose Arrange - Send to Back. Hold down Ctrl and click on your stem so that your both parts will be selected. Right-click and choose Group.
	The flower Open Easy Palette and go to the Object Library. Find Shape Library - Pattern. Double-click on the Flower3. Right-click on the flower on your image and choose Properties. Go to the flap Position & Size and choose the width to 100. The square "Keep aspect Ratio" should be ticked. While the flower is still selected open Easy Palette again. Go to the Material Gallery - Gel and choose G36. Then choose the Path Drawing Tool. Shape: Circle Mode: 3D Color: Optional. Draw a circle 15x15px and place it in the middle of the flower. Let the circle been selected and open Easy Palette again. Go to the Material Gallery and choose Gel - G27. Select both your flowerparts. Right-click and choose Merge as Single Object.
	Open Layer Manager and select your flower. Right-click and choose Duplicate five times. Change the value for width on four of your copies to 100, 80, 50 and 20. The height will automatically been adjusted after the width. Move one of the biggest flower a little aside on your image. Place the other on each other in the order large, smaller, smallest. Go to the Path Drawing Tool. Shape: Circle Mode: 3D Color: Optional. Draw a circle 20x20px. Open Easy Palette and go to the Material Gallery - Gel. Choose G10. Place your circle on top of your five flowers. Right-click and choose Arrange - Send Backward so that the circle ending up behind your smallest flower. Select both the circle and the smallest flower. Right-click and choose Align - Center Both. Right-click again and choose Merge as Single Object. Then select your four flowers and the circle. Right-click and choose Align - Center Both and right-click again and choose Group. Save your work as part1.ufo.
	Arrange the stem Open the file background.jpg or use an own background- image in the size 350x350px. Hold down Ctrl and press D to get another backgroundimage. Save one of them in a new folder as frame1.jpg and the other as part2.ufo. Close frame1.jpg. Activate the images with your flowerparts and select the stem. Right-click and choose Copy. Return to your back- groundimage. Right-click and choose Paste. Place the stem little to the right of the middle as I have done on the pictures to the left. For this animation you need ten stems and * to get further stems select your stem. Go to the Transform Tool - Resize. Fill in the value 10.00 in Rotate by degree. Click on the down-arrow at Copy rotate and choose Counterclockvise to rotate de new stem 10° to the left. Move the new stem so it's lay edge to edge on the lower part of your last stem. * Repeat the step * to get... * until you have ten stems on your image. (If your stems have been to close the leftside. Select all of them. Right-click and choose Group and adjust the placing. Right-click again and choose Ungroup). Open Layer Manager and activate the lock on all your stems so they will keep their position. Then inactivate the eyes on all stems except the second last. Select the second last stem * Right-click and choose Ungroup and inactivate the lock on your image with your curve. Go to the Transform Tool - Resize. Rotate by degree is still prepare for 10° so click one time on Rotate by degree - Rotate Counterclockvise to rotate the curve 10° to the left. Then move this part together with the other stempart. Activate the lock again on this image in Layer Manager. Hold down Ctrl and click on the part with the leaves so that both your stempart been selected. Right-click and choose Group. * Repeat the step * Right-click and choose Ungroup... * with the stems below. Don't forget to change to the new value for Rotate by degree on each one of them. Stem 3: 1 time 15° stem 4: 1 time 20° stem 5: 1 time 20° stem 6: 2 times 20° stem 7: 2 times 20° stem 8: 3 times 20° stem 9: 4 times 20° stem 10: 6 times 20° Return to the Layer Manager and inactivate the eyes on every stem except stem 1.
	Arrange the flowers Go to the image where you have your flowerparts. Select your flowergroup. Right-click and choose Copy. Return to the image with flowerstems. Right-click and choose Paste. Place this flowergroup on your visible stem. Right-click and choose Group. Open Layer Manager and * activate the lock on your flowergroup/flower and inactivate the eyes on both flowergroup/flower and the stem. Select next stem and activate the eye on this object to make this stem visible on your image. * Copy the single flower from your image with flowerparts and go back to your image with flowerstems. Right-click and choose Paste. Right-click on the flower you pasted in and choose Duplicate. Place one of the flowers at the top of your stem and select both parts. Right-click and choose Group. Open Layer Manager and repeat the step * activate... * Go back and duplicate the single flower again (Right-click - Duplicate) and place it on the next stem. Select both parts. Right-click and choose Group. Open Layer Manger again and repeat * activate... * and then return to the image with stems.
	Select the single flower. Right-click and choose Convert Object Type - Image to Path and * place the flower on the next stem. While the flower is still selected go to Transform Tool - Rotate Method - Rotate in Virtual 3D. Hold down left mouse button and move the cursor a little inward and upward so that the flower turn around and views from another angle. Right-click and choose Copy. Then select both the flower and the stem. Right-click and choose Group. Open the Layer Manager and lock this flower and inactivate the eye on it. Go on to the next stem and activate the eyes. Then return to your image with flowerstems. Right-click and choose Paste. * Repeat the step * place the... * with the remaining of your stems and turn every flower around more and more for each time. When you come to the tenth stem jump over inactivate the eye in Layer Manager.
	Create frames to the animation Select the laying flower in Layer Manager. Right-click and choose Duplicate to get another one. While your copy is selected. Right-click on it and choose Merge as Single Object. Go to Edit - Fill. Change Color: to #6D5128 Merge: Inverse & Multiply Transparency: 20% and click OK. Then Right-click on this flower and choose Duplicate to get one more. Return to Edit - Fill and change Merge: Multiply. (Color and Transparency is the same as last time.) Right-click again on your latest flower and choose Duplicate to get the third copy. (Don't deselect it) Go to Quick Color Tuning in the Tool Panel and click two times on the minus- button at the sunsymbol to make this copy a bit darker. While your flower is still selected. Right-click and choose Duplicate so you get your fourth copy. You can see these four objects further up in the Layer Manager. Inactivate the eyes on all of them except the last one you made. It's the one at the top. Select it and go to Object Paint Eraser Tool. First erase everything from the left to the third pair of leafs and a little bit of the lower leaf on the last pair. Press Enter to deselect the flower and save this image as frame26.jpg. * Go to Layer Manager again and inactivate the eye on this image and activate the next image instead. * Redo the procedure with to erase. But this time should you take the three leafs to the left and the flower. Press Enter and save the image as frame25.jpg and repeat the step * Go... * Repeat the steps with the next flower, but on this should you only erase the lower leaf of the first pair from the left and an extremely small bit of the flower. Save the flower as frame24.jpg. Finally repeat the steps with the last copy but on this should you not erase anything just save it as frame23.jpg. * Go back to Layer Manager and inactivate the eye on the last flower you worked with. Activate it on the next flower. Deselect your flower by press Enter and save the image * as frame22.jpg Go on to repeat the step * Go back... * with your forthcoming eight flowers in falling order. When you are finish so have you created frame21.jpg - frame14.jpg.
	Now you only have your upright standing flower left. Go to Layer Manager and activate the eye on this. Right-click and choose Ungroup. Then select the group with your four flowers and Right-click again and choose Ungroup. Inactivate the eyes so you only can see your big flower and the stem on you image. Right-click and choose Deselect All Object and save the image as frame13.jpg. Inactivate the eye on this flower and activate it on the next flower (100x100) and save the file as frame12.jpg Repeat these steps with the flower (80x80) and save it as frame11.jpg, flower (50x50) and save it as frame10.jpg and finally with your round flower (20x20) and save this as frame9.jpg. Then inactivate the eye with round flower so that you only see your stem on the image and save it as frame8.jpg. Select the stem. Right-click and choose Ungroup. Hold down Ctrl and click on the part with the leaves to deselect it. Select the curve and Right-click and choose Delete. Then Right-click on your stem and choose Convert Object Type - Path to Image. Go to Object Paint Eraser Tool and then remove the right leaf. Deselect the stem and save the image as frame7.jpg. Select the stem again and go to Object Paint Eraser Tool and remove the to upper leafs to the left. Press Enter to deselect the stem and save your image as frame6.jpg. Select the stem and remove the two upper leafs to the right and save the image as frame5.jpg. Select the stem again and remove the upper leaf and save the frame as frame4.jpg. Select the stem again and remove the leaf to the left and the stem in the middle and save the image as frame3.jpg Then finally remove the leaf to the right and a bit of the stem. Save the image as frame2.jpg.
	Gif Animator Go to Switch furthest up to the right in PhotoImpact and choose Ulead Gif Animator. Click on Animation Wizard in the windows as directly open up. Fill in width: 350px and height: 350px and click on Next. Click on the button Add image and find the folder where you save your frames. Hold down Ctrl and select each frame in the order frame1-27. Click on Open. Then choose Next. Change Delay to 30 in Frame Duration and click on Next to move to the last window there you should choose Finish. The frame that has the name Frame1 is the animations last image. But in Gif Animator have it ended up first so it must be moved to the end. Right-click and choose Change Frame Order - Assign as Last Frame. Select the new Frame1. Right-click and choose Frame Properties. Change Delay to 50 and click OK. Go to the Frame13 and change Delay to 100. Go on to Frame22-24 and change theirs Delay to 75. Finally select Frame25-26 and change Delay to 40. Then choose the flap Preview (who you can find just over your image) to watch how your flower grown up and wither away. You need to reduce the size on your animation, so that your file not is much too big. Choose Edit - Resize Image. Change Canvas Size to the width: 200px and let the square "Keep aspect ratio" be ticked. Then your image automatically will change the size in proportion to the width. (200px). Choose File - Optimization Wizard. Tick the square "Optimize using a Preset". Choose the preset Photo 128 and then click on Finish. (If you want to see how your flower looks after the changing of presets, choose Preview.) Finish with to click on Save As to save your flower as a gif-fil. Ex flower.gif. Your animated flower is finished!!!! I hope you like it! I would love to see your work, so send me a mail with your homepage address. When you have finished this tutorial, you are welcome to download this award and display it on your web page. Right-click on the image and choose save. Show the PI world what you have created, by displaying your results at PIRC Bulletin Board. If you have any questions about this tutorial or if you wish to help me translate it to another language, please mail me..